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LARSON REPORT |
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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER |
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Click here to view this Email in your Web browser
October 18, 2012 |
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CONTACT ME
Mailing Address:
State Capitol
Web Site:
Find Me on Facebook and Twitter:
COMMUNITY
EVENTS
Supporting our
neighbors and being involved in our community is of the utmost
importance. Some community events that might be of interest to you and
your family are listed below.
Date: Now through Fri., October 19 at 7 p.m. Location: Milwaukee Description: Learn more about Medusa and other monsters in Greek mythology by stopping the the UW-Milwaukee Planetarium. General admission is $2. CLICK HERE or call (414) 229-4961 for more information.
Manfred Olson Planetarium in the Physics Building (MAP) 1900 E. Kenwood Blvd. Milwaukee, WI 53211
Location:
Milwaukee Milwaukee Art Museum (MAP) 700 N. Art Museum Drive Milwaukee, WI 53202
Harvest Tasting
UW-Milwaukee (MAP)
2200 E. Kenwood Blvd.
Milwaukee Art Museum (MAP) 700 N. Art Museum Drive Milwaukee, WI 53202
Family Free Day at the Zoo Date: Sat., November 3 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Location: Milwaukee Description: Home to more than 2,275 animals with more than 330 species represented, the Milwaukee County Zoo is one of Milwaukee’s finest attractions. All visitors will receive free admission to the Milwaukee County Zoo on this day, although the parking fee remains in effect. CLICK HERE for more information.
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Dear Friend,
Several legislative committees met this week and state aid numbers for the current school year based off of the September head count were released. Information about fall and Halloween events in the community and across the state have also been included. Please continue reading for more information.
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Schools Disappointed by State Aid Numbers |
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According to the Department of Public Instruction, 64% of Wisconsin's public school districts, or 272 of 424, will receive less school aid for the 2012-2013 school year than they did the previous year. Included in this list of school districts are Milwaukee Public Schools and the St. Francis School District, which are facing cuts of over $3.21 million and $146,000 respectively.
These cuts will mean that schools will have to cope with 7% less in funding compared to what they received prior to the passage of the 2011-2013 Biennial Budget. According to the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators (WASDA) survey done during the last school year, many school districts expected to scrape by after the first round of cuts from Governor Walker's budget were put into effect last year. However, school districts cautioned that the second round of cuts set to take effect during the 2012-2013 school year would be nearly impossible to handle.
Below is a chart detailing the state aid our public schools received prior to the passage of Governor Walker's budget and what schools in our community should expect this year.
Some of the consequences they warned us about can already been seen in our own community. The concerns brought to my attention during meetings with local teachers and administrators include staffing cuts, increased class sizes, offering fewer art, music, physical education, Advanced Placement, and foreign language classes, and cutting resources for special education, reading specialists, and school libraries.
In addition to receiving less money from the state, public schools in Milwaukee and Racine will also see money funneled out of Milwaukee Public Schools and the Racine Unified School District and shifted to private and religious schools. According to the Department of Public Instruction, taxpayers in Milwaukee and Racine should expect to shell out $157.9 million to support private and religious schools participating in the choice program. Unfortunately, while such schools will be receiving an increase in taxpayer funds they still do not have the same accountability and transparency measures in place as their public school counterparts.
During the next legislative session, I will continue my efforts to ensure that we properly invest in our public schools, as Wisconsin needs to be pro-education in order for it to also be pro-business. Additionally, I will fight for adequate accountability and transparency measures for all schools receiving taxpayer funds, including voucher schools.
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Encouraging a Race to the Top in Milwaukee Schools |
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My Milwaukee colleagues and I submitted a letter this week in support of an application Milwaukee Public Schools submitted to the federal government seeking to obtain Race to the Top funding.
Click here to view a copy of this letter.
Some of the reforms our local schools in Milwaukee hope to implement with the additional funding include:
Click here to view a copy of the executive summary submitted by Milwaukee Public Schools to the federal government.
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Committees Hold Public Hearings This Week |
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Senate Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Tourism This past Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Tourism took a more in-depth look at three items related to the environmental and economic health of our state. Below is a list of the main agenda items discussed in the meeting.
Joint Legislative Audit Committee The Joint Legislative Audit Committee met this past Wednesday to discuss Wisconsin's economic development programs and Medicaid programs, including FamilyCare.
The committee started the hearing by taking up the audit put together by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau on the state's economic development programs. The audit examined the time period from 2007 to 2011 and looked at 196 economic development programs, including loans, grants, bonds, and tax incentives, administered by eight different state agencies. Below are some of the findings from the audit that were discuss in-depth by the committee.
There were clearly a number of accountability and transparency concerns regarding Wisconsin's economic development programs. I look forward to hearing further updates from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation on the measures they are taking to remedy these concerns. I also look forward to crafting joint legislation with the other members of the Audit Committee to address oversights made by the Legislature when replacing Commerce with this public-private entity.
Click here to view a copy of the audit on economic development programs.
The Joint Legislative Audit Committee also heard from neighbors discussing the importance of the FamilyCare program and ensuring that we continue to move in the right direction on cutting costs without decreasing the quality of coverage. While the committee held a public hearing on FamilyCare during the legislative session, the public hearing on Wednesday provided a much-needed update from the Department of Health Services, the agency that administers FamilyCare. According to the follow-up:
Our committee greatly appreciated this update from the Department of Health Services. We also look forward to addressing other pertinent issues related to our health safety net programs in the future, including better tracking the costs of each subprogram rather than just Medicaid as a whole and examining how the contract with Logisticare has affected neighbors that rely on this transportation system to ensure their health care needs are met.
Click here to view a copy of the audit on FamilyCare.
Click here to view the most recent follow-up submitted by the Department of Health Services.
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Voting Procedures Detailed Here |
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Residency & Registration All voters must register prior to casting their vote. Fortunately, in-person voters can do this as late as Election Day since Wisconsin allows for same-day registration. To register at your polling place on the day of the election, you must provide proof that you meet residency requirements. Voters in Wisconsin must live at their voting address at least 28 consecutive days before an election. An individual who moves within this state later than 28 days before an election must vote at his or her previous ward or election district.
Click here for more information about voter registration.
Proof of Residence Acceptable forms of proof of residence must include:
The following constitute acceptable proof of residence if the document contains the information specified above:
Click here for more information about proof of residency for the purpose of registering to vote.
Voting Absentee Absentee applications must be made no earlier than the opening of business on the third Monday preceding the election and no later than 5 p.m. or the close of business, whichever is later, on the Friday preceding the election. You should contact your local municipal clerk to request an absentee ballot. In addition, they should explain where to return your ballot once it is filled out. You can also vote absentee in-person. In-person absentee voting now falls between the opening of business on the third Monday before Election Day and 5 p.m. or the close of business, whichever is later, on the Friday before Election Day, a two week time frame.
Click here to find the contact information for your municipal clerk.
Students Students can use a university, college, or technical college identification card with a photograph of the cardholder as proof of residence if the university, college, or technical college provides a certified and current list of students who reside in housing sponsored by the university, college, or technical college, who are U.S. citizens, showing the current address of the students. If the university does not provide such a list to polling locations, then the student must present a fee payment receipt along with their identification card.
Click here if you would like more information about voting procedures
for students. I have also created a PDF guide to provide information about election and voting procedures in Wisconsin. This is a great resource to email or print to pass on to family, friends, and neighbors who may want more information about changes to Wisconsin's voting laws.
Click here to view my PDF voting guide.
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Ask Chris |
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I often have neighbors contact me looking for my perspective on various local and state issues. I very much appreciate our neighbors' questions and want to dedicate a portion of my newsletter to common questions that I hear to maintain an open dialogue. Please continue reading for this week's question.
Q: I recently got a political mailing that included an absentee ballot application form. Is submitting this form the best way to go about requesting an absentee ballot for the upcoming November election?
A: Especially leading up to November elections, neighbors will often receive political mailers that contain a registration form already pre-addressed for them to submit. While this may seem like an easy way to register prior to Election Day, these mailers are not always accurate, which has led the Government Accountability Board to warn against their use.
According to a recent Wisconsin State Journal article, the Town of Albion experienced such a mistake first-hand. Upon closer inspection of the more than 30 registration forms it received by October 8, the clerk realized that these applications were not from town residents, but rather Wisconsinites in Dane County. Many of these individuals had submitted a registration form given to them via a political mailer without noticing that it was incorrectly addressed by the group that mailed it. Therefore, their registration form intended for a municipality in Dane County instead went to the clerk in Albion. While the town of Albion has been forwarding the registration requests to municipal clerks in Dane County, there is concern that registration requests submitted closer to the election may not reach the correct destination in time, and thus go uncounted.
The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, the nonpartisan agency tasked with managing Wisconsin's elections, says such mistakes in political mailers sent out by political parties and other groups trying to get out the vote are not uncommon. Despite having talked to some of these groups in the past, they seem to repeatedly make similar mistakes year after year.
Because of this persistent problem, the Government Accountability Board advises against using the forms provided by such political mailers and instead recommends that voters visit the agency's Web site at myvote.wi.gov to see if they are registered. If not registered, the Web site will also provide the contact information for their municipal clerk who can register them and provide an absentee ballot if necessary.
Looking for more information about registering and voting in Wisconsin? Follow the link below:
Click here to Visit the Government Accountability Board's Web site for more information.
Received a mailing with incorrect information listed and want to file a complaint? Follow the link below:
Click to file a complaint with the Government Accountability Board.
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Did You Know...? |
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Wisconsin even has its own claim to
fame regarding the very thing we make Jack-O-Lanterns out of now--
pumpkins. In 2010, New Richmond, Wisconsin native Chris Stevens was
recognized by Guinness World Records for growing the heaviest pumpkin
weighing in at 1,810.5 pounds.
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Halloween Events in the Community |
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Get your costumes ready because Halloween is creeping up on us. Trick-or-treating has been a popular Halloween tradition in the United States and other countries for nearly 100 years. This community-based ritual is one of the most highly anticipated holidays as it is an evening of fun, costumes, and candy that all ages can enjoy. This year, Halloween falls on a Wednesday, so most trick-or-treating will take place the weekend prior on October 27 and 28.
Below are some tips to ensure a fun and safe trick-or- treating experience for you and your family:
Trick-or-Treating in Our Community
Halloween Events Around the
Neighborhood
Saturday, October 27 at 7 p.m.
Click here or call (414) 286-3663 for more information.
Now through Saturday, November 3
Click here or call (414) 426-4169 for more information. The Alchemist Theatre & Lounge (MAP) 2569 S. Kinnickinnic Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53207
Saturday, October 27 from 6 p.m.
to 9 p.m.
Click here or call (414) 390-5437 for more information. Betty Brinn Children’s Museum (MAP) 929 E. Wisconsin Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Click here or call (414) 390-5437 for more information. Betty Brinn Children’s Museum (MAP) 929 E. Wisconsin Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Sunday, October 28 from 10 a.m. to 4
p.m.
Click here or call (414) 224-3200 for more information. Milwaukee Art Museum (MAP) 700 N. Art Museum Drive
Milwaukee, WI 53202
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Autumn Family Outings |
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Below is list of great family-friendly activities our state offers during the fall season. While some are located right in our own backyard, others are hosted by communities around the state. Continue reading for more information about these activities, including hayrides, pumpkin-picking, and scenic, colorful drives.
Apple-Picking at a Wisconsin Orchard If you are looking for an outing to a Wisconsin apple orchard this fall, there are a bushel of great options throughout the state. Whether you want to go apple picking, enjoy a scenic autumn hayride, sip warm apple cider, or even decorate caramel apples, Wisconsin's apple orchards have something for everyone. The Wisconsin Department of Tourism recommends five orchards in particular, located in Burlington, Fitchburg, Bayfield, Mukwonago, and Gays Mills.
Click here for more information about these apple orchards.
Fall Colors in Wisconsin
Click here for more information about these scenic drives.
Like the idea of a fall drive, but do not have the time to stray too far from home? Take advantage of the Department of Tourism's listing of the best fall color road trips in Southern Wisconsin.
Click here for more information about potential routes.
You can also create your own fall drive by utilizing the Department of Tourism's Fall Color Report Web page. This tool shows the colors featured in each area of Wisconsin via an interactive state map.
Click here to utilize the Fall Color Report Map.
Pumpkins, Hayrides, Corn Mazes, and More With Halloween just around the corner, it's a great time to take the family pumpkin-picking. While there are not any pumpkin farms in the City of Milwaukee, with just a short drive you can find plenty of these farms. Many even offer other entertainment options, including hayrides and corn mazes.
Click here for more information about great Milwaukee-area farms to enjoy.
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Neighborhood Survey Available |
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Click here to save a stamp and take the survey online.
I look forward to hearing your views on these important issues!
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